FEMA

The 5 Dumbest West Fertilizer-Plant Explosion Conspiracy Theories On The Web

Investigators are nowhere near declaring what caused the explosion of the fertilizer factory in West April 17. Other investigators, however, have come to their own conclusions, or raised their own questions. Their own nutty, farcical, inane conclusions and questions. They are the West Truthers on ... More >>

"Feds Order 1.6 Billion Bullets" -- New Spam E-Mail Goes After FEMA Conspiracy Theorists and Sports Fans?

Spammers don't care about your political causes or your beliefs. They prey on the innocent and the naive, which is why a recent spate of e-mails I've received using conspiracy theory scare tactics does not surprise me in the least. I am not a "prepper," nor do I fear the end of the world or being j ... More >>

Galveston's Historic Elissa To Get $1.4 Million In FEMA Repair Funds

Hurricane Ike can seem like a lifetime ago, but the feds are still doling out the cash to deal with the devastation along the Galveston waterfront. Some of that devastation involved the Elissa, the historic tall ship that has long been giving island visitors a taste of Galveston's past in the age o ... More >>

The Oddly Named Patrick Adolf Prendergast Jr. Ripped off FEMA, Jury Rules

Desecrating the name of Adolf, a man named Patrick Adolf Prendergast Jr. has been convicted of ripping off FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Ike, the U.S. Attorney's Office has announced. And his parents had such high hopes for him when they gave him his middle name. Prendergast, 54, was convicted of ... More >>

ERRRRRR: Get Ready to Get Emergency Broadcasted On, Y'All

​A nationwide test of Emergency Alert System is set for today at 1 p.m. Houston time, when a half-minute message will air on all television and radio stations. The purpose is to test out the preparedness of the system to break into radio and TV channels to give instructions and news in the eve ... More >>

Wildfire: What to Do If It Nears, Houstonians

Hopefully you won't be dealing with this​Here in Houston, we generally think about wildfire danger as often as we do earthquakes, which is to say never at all. But the recent fire in George Bush Park shows that the historic drought has made a lot more people vulnerable to a wildfire. So what ... More >>

Our Mother of Mercy

How far did cardinal go in tearing down Ike-ravaged church?

Fishers of Men: Pastor And Associates Get Prison Time For Fraud

Go thou and defraudeth FEMA....​It was almost two years ago that we wrote about the Fishers of Men scandal, a church in southwest Houston whose pastor and associates were charged with various financial shenanigans.It sparked a comment war between defenders and accusers that lasted so long and got ... More >>

Two Pastors And A Deacon Admit That Their Church Was One Hell Of A Scam

​Some blog items never die.Almost a year ago we wrote about the fraud charges filed against officials of the Fishers of Men Worship Center in Houston. To this day, barely a week goes by without someone throwing up another comment on the case, either defending the officials or saying they got what ... More >>

Guilty Pleas From The Sisters Who Dared To Defraud FEMA And Oprah

This summer we told you about two locals who had not only been accused of defrauding the federal government, but something far, far more powerful: Oprah Winfrey.​Sisters Darlene McGruder Poole and Lashone McGruder Victor were charged in August with filing false information to FEMA in order to get ... More >>

Ripping Off FEMA And Oprah: Not A Good Idea

​It's one thing to defraud FEMA in the wake of a hurricane. It's another to mess with Oprah.That's the sad, heavy lesson learned by four people named in indictments unsealed this morning by the U.S. Attorney's office. They're charged with, as the feds put it, "wrongfully obtaining rental assistanc ... More >>

Have a Nice Summer!

Panic, FEMA, empty shelves — here's the only Hurricane Guide you'll need this year.

Three Hurricanes, Three Fraud Schemes

Wherever there's a hurricane, ma, I'll be there...Wherever a FEMA official's handing out a form to fill, I'll be the person scamming them...Wherever -- Well, we don't think the Tom Joad speech at the end of The Grapes of Wrath goes exactly like that, but it would if Phyllis Ann Taylor was saying it. ... More >>

Hobby Bloggers at the Chronicle Spark Controversy

First They Came For Our Teabags: The Slideshow

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttWe promised, and we are Promise Keepers! (of a sort).Here's the slideshow of the tea-party protest at Jones Plaza yesterday. Check to see if you made the cut. We are not responsible, however, if the fact that your photo is posted here puts you on a Department of Homeland S ... More >>

Closing: The Last Ike Recovery Center Remaining Open

It's a milestone of sorts: The last Ike recovery center still operating will close its doors Friday.At one time 130 such centers were open, but now the only one left is at the Galveston Island Community Center on Broadway. It's served 28,000 visitors, FEMA says."The recovery centers provided much-ne ... More >>

Searching for Hurricane Ike Victims

Some may never be found.

The Five Least Significant Deaths In Houston This Year

We've already noted the five biggest local deaths in 2008; now it's time to look at the five deaths that leave the smallest amounts of sympathy or significance.5. The Playoff Chances of the Texans and Astros. Insignificant because really, did anyone expect anything different? The teams blew when the ... More >>

Bacliff Gets Ready For An Ike Invasion

Shortly after Hurricane Ike, San Leon resident Tommy Dixon praised the spirit of his hometown and its will to rebuild by saying "All we need now are FEMA trailers and mosquito repellent."We don't know about the mosquito repellent, but they are getting the FEMA trailers. Two hundred of them are slate ... More >>

Be Thou Fishers Of Men, Or Scammers Of Government

There's no scam like a religious scam. And there's no religious scam like one where the church involved has a really churchy name, like Fishers of Men. And that's what we have (allegedly) in Houston -- the US Attorney's office has indicted the heads of Fishers of Men for skimming millions in fa ... More >>

He Got His Fraud Conviction Through The Houston Chronicle

Ike-Response Hearings Begin; FEMA Doesn't Bother To Show Up

Buy Lemonade, Help The Federal Government Out

Galveston Releases A Damage-Assessment Map

He's Guilty -- Of Generating Good Quotes

RIP, Some of Our Best Of Houston® Winners

Hardly Knew Ye

Hurricane Relief

Houston doesn't roll over for Ike

Renters -- Don't Get Screwed By Lazy Landlords

Sunny San Leon Picks Up the Pieces After Hurricane Ike

The FEMA Bureaucracy Descends, And Obfuscates

The Initial Bill For Clean-Up In Houston: Almost $100 Million

Two Politicians, Two Responses

Houston Libraries Begin To Re-Open, With Computers For Victims

FEMA Not Looking Too Good in Greenspoint

The Men's Club Is Open!

A Dispatch from Dickinson

Time Bomb Defused

Adventures in Flood Insurance

Merry Christmas and Pass Me the Jim Beam

Is God on 3-1-1?

So Much for Waterfront Views

Debate Club

KTRH's shouter has a hissy fit

Juvenile

Reality Check

La Mordita

Check cashers and furniture rental companies take a big chunk out of post-hurricane FEMA checks

System Failure

Tropical Storm Allison destroyed houses that never quite got fixed, thanks to bureaucratic bungling and cheaters

Against All Odds

A group of unsupervised mental patients running from Katrina made it from New Orleans to Houston. Victor Fruge led the way.

The Long Goodbye

It sounds so simple: FEMA purchasing homes flooded by Tropical Storm Allison. Then come the bureaucratic blizzards and personal angst over giving up and getting out.

Out of Control

The City of Houston requires developers in the floodplain to elevate and mitigate -- build houses on higher ground and dig detention ponds for runoff. Except, not always.

Not Worth A Dam

Clear Creek is on the rise, and local flood-protection methods have been helpless against it. Soggy residents, tired of being perpetual victims, are ready for a fight.

Added Costs

Houston finally moves on a flood program that could have saved residents millions